Location
Have you ever wondered what that louver on the wall is? Sometimes it appears in your laundry room, sometimes it may be in a hallway, or it may simply appear in a transition wall between your kitchen and dining room. Wherever your particular one may be located, they all serve the same purpose. These louvers cover the return air duct which leads back to your HVAC unit. Return air is conditioned air which has already been circulated through your home through the HVAC vents (supply vents) and is being returned to the unit for either further conditioning and re-circulation or for discharge outside your home. This is more energy efficient than using 100% outside air.
So what is the importance of this louver, and why am I writing a blog post about it? Inside of the louver is an air filter. No matter how much of a clean freak you may be (this, unfortunately, is not one of my most noted traits), there are particles in your home. These particles can consist of dust, dirt, pet hair, pet dander, and I’m sure there are many others which I am not even aware of. Because return air is being sucked back to the HVAC unit, all these particles would get sucked into the vent and taken back to your unit if it wasn’t for this filter. The filter serves two main purposes: 1) These particles over time will harm your unit and put it under strain and 2) These particles will build up in your duct work and get recirculated through your supply air causing a dusty tornado throughout your house – maybe microscopic to the human eye, but a dusty tornado nonetheless.
Maintenance
These filters need to be changed on a regular basis. What exactly is the definition of a regular basis? Weekly? Monthly? Every six months? It used to be monthly. Yes, you read that right, MONTHLY! All those icky particles floating through your home get sucked into the return air louver and then attach themselves to the filter. A clogged filter will both not work properly, and it will put stress on your HVAC unit as it has to work harder to suck air through a clogged filter. With today’s advances, there are many options out there for filters which need to be changed less often (I currently have a filter which is listed for three months). There are also options out there for reusable filters, but these will still need to be washed or cleaned monthly or according to the manufacturer’s recommendation.
In short, find the filter which best fits your household and your desired maintenance schedule. If you have a layer of dust covering the entire filter (similar to your dryer vent which you clean after each load of laundry), it is time to change or clean your filter! Factors such as pets and kids running in and out all day may affect the manufacturer’s recommended lifetime of the filter, so I suggest checking the filter monthly regardless.
Where to Find
Filters can be purchased at your local hardware store, Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon. Even most grocery stores carry them now though I have not found this to be the most economical way to purchase them. Next, you will need to figure out what size you need. Remove the louver. This is normally held on with either screws or tabs which you simply rotate out of the way. The filter should fit nearly perfectly in the opening behind the louver. If you have an existing filter, you can reference the size as it will be printed on the border. If not, simply measure your opening with a tape measure. Filter sizes are in inches. The filter should not be crammed into the opening with the corners mashed in or have excess space around the edges. One of the older houses I lived in did not have a typical opening size by today’s standards, so I had to buy filter material which can then be cut to size. Below is a list of common filter sizes for your reference.
Common Sizes
So there you go, now you know how to maintain a clean, healthy, and smoothly functioning air-conditioning system! (Go ahead and put that filter change reminder on your monthly calendar.)
Xoxo,
Amanda
